Friday, March 17, 2017

Scath Na Déithe - ''Pledge Nothing But Flesh'' (LP, 2016)

Scath Na Déithe is a band from Dublin, Ireland, founded by Cathal
Hughes and Stephen Todd. ''Pledge Nothing But Flesh'' is their first full
length album independently published 13 January 2017, which will be released in
cassette format for Metal Defiance Productions.

''Sí Gaoithe'' is ghostly and eerie instrumental, which
introduces us to a quite atmospheric metal release, characterized by poetic and
nihilistic lyrics, guitars in a lower tuning, beautiful and somehow melancholic
ethereal tremolo passages. Songs are extended, with the drum arrangement that's
changing from fast ''aces'' and blast beats to slow and heavy doom metal-vibed courses.
The listener is lost in dense fog of atmospheric features that constantly give birth to remarkable
and epic tremolo melodies. Vocal is resounding and quite striking growl combined
with scream, and its directness is a great contrast to the mystifying arrangement of
guitar passages, growing one from another like hydra heads. The band sounds
like a clash of Fen and Ruins Of
Beverast, having unique and original sound.

Prominent tremolo melodies followed by smooth doom
drum rhythm begin my favorite track, ''Bloodless'', staying stuck in the
memory. A melody somewhere after the third minute is personally the most
beautiful moment of the album. Old school Death metal tremolo like the ones in
the second half of ''This Unrecognized Desease '' and the death doom tunes in
the first half ''Search Unending'' are great way to avoid monotony of decomposing
chords and long atmo-trem passages. The motif in '' The Shackled Mind '' reminded me of the early death metal period of Darkthrone.
Both ''Search Unending'' and '' The Shackled Mind '' end with stunning
atmospheric passages on clean / acoustic guitars, and '' At Marbh Fáilte'' is a
beautiful instrumental where the acoustic guitar is accompanied by eerie
keyboards.'' The Shackled Mind'' ends with slow chords with the
howling wind in the background, similar to the way the album was started through intro.